Tag location guiding method and tag location guiding system for communication terminals

ABSTRACT

A tag location guiding method and a tag location guiding system for communication terminals that enable guiding of tag location during reception of tag information are disclosed. The tag location guiding method for communication terminals includes: recognizing, upon reception of tag information, a guide level set in correspondence to the tag information; and outputting, if previously set location guide data according to the recognized guide level is present, the set location guide data. Accordingly, a user of a communication terminal can accurately obtain a situation through location guide data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application claims priority to an application entitled “TAGLOCATION GUIDING METHOD AND TAG LOCATION GUIDING SYSTEM FORCOMMUNICATION TERMINALS” filed in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice on Nov. 14, 2007 and assigned Serial No. 2007-0115826, thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a tag information usingmethod and a tag information using system for communication terminalsand, more particularly, to a tag location guiding method and a taglocation guiding system for communication terminals that enable guidingof tag location during reception of tag information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, in radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, a tagstores unique tag information and transmits tag information to a readerlocated within a distance range. In this case, a reader can decode taginformation of a plurality of tags located within a radius range even ifit does not make direct contact with the tags and also can decodeinformation of moving tags. Accordingly, RFID technology using tags andreaders is being applied to various fields such as parking managementsystems (PMS), record management systems (RMS), entrance control systems(ECS), intelligent transportation systems (ITS), integrated managementsystems (IMS), livestock identification systems (LIS), and factoryautomation systems (FAS).

However, a communication terminal to which a reader is mounted justmanages tag information as a record. As a result, there exists a demandfor a technology that enables wider application of RFID technology usingRFID tags and readers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To address the above-discussed deficiencies of the prior art, it is aprimary object to provide a tag location guiding method forcommunication terminals comprising: recognizing, upon reception of a taginformation, a guide level set to correspond to the tag information; andoutputting, if previously set location guide data according to therecognized guide level is present, the set location guide data.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, there is provided a tag location guiding system forcommunication terminals comprising: a tag storing a tag information; anda communication terminal having a reader unit for receiving the taginformation, a control unit recognizing, upon reception of the taginformation, a guide level corresponding to the received tag informationand outputting, if previously set location guide data according to therecognized guide level is present, the set location guide data, and amemory having a tag setting database for storing the set location guidedata for the tag information under the control of the control unit.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION below, itmay be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words andphrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and“comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion withoutlimitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases“associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivativesthereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with,contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, becommunicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximateto, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and theterm “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controlsat least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware,firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same.It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particularcontroller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally orremotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are providedthroughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the artshould understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitionsapply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words andphrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals represent like parts:

FIG. 1 is a view schematically illustrating a tag location guidingsystem for communication terminals according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a signal flow in a tag locationguiding system for communication terminals according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a tag location guiding system forcommunication terminals according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a tag location guiding procedure of acommunication terminal according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a tag setting procedure of FIG. 4;and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a tag information managing procedureof FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 through 6, discussed below, and the various embodiments used todescribe the principles of the present disclosure in this patentdocument are by way of illustration only and should not be construed inany way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the artwill understand that the principles of the present disclosure may beimplemented in any suitably arranged tag location system.

In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the term ‘taginformation’ refers to information transmitted from tags. Taginformation contains unique data stored in tags, such as identificationcodes, and areas where the tags are attached (i.e., titles of taglocations). Tag information may further contain vision data by whichtransmission of tag information from tags is carried out.

The term ‘location guide data’ refers to data that, upon reception oftag information from a tag, are output to guide location of the tag in acommunication terminal. Such location guide data may be data forexplaining the location of a tag or data warning approach to thelocation of the tag. Location guide data may be output as signals suchas audio signals and text signals. The term ‘location guide data’ willbe used in conjunction with the term ‘notification data’ for playback ofa communication terminal and the term ‘transmission data’ fortransmission from one communication terminal to another.

The term ‘a guide level’ refers to a level that, upon reception of taginformation from a tag, is set to output specific location guide dataaccording to a reference in a communication terminal. Then, a guidelevel may be classified according to a distance between a tag and acommunication terminal receiving the tag information (i.e., a tagdistance).

FIG. 1 is a view schematically illustrating a tag location guidingsystem for communication terminals according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the tag location guiding system includes at leastone tag 110 and a first communication terminal 130. The tag locationguiding system may include a second communication terminal 150.

The tag 110 stores and transmits tag information. The tag 110 is mountedto a specific tag location, such as a doll, a traffic sign, a homeappliance, and an inner or outer wall of a building. The tag 110 maytransmit tag information at a time interval. As an alternative, the tag110 may transmit tag information in response to a demand.

The first communication terminal 130 includes a reader unit forreceiving tag information. The first communication terminal 130 maytransmit a message making a demand for tag information at a timeinterval. Upon reception of the tag information, the first communicationterminal 130 may output location guide data. That is, the firstcommunication terminal 130 may play back notification data or maytransmit transmission data to the second communication terminal 150.Moreover, the first communication terminal 130 processes taginformation.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a signal flow in a tag locationguiding system for communication terminals according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the tag 110 transmits tag information in step 211.Then, the tag 110 may radiate tag information at a time interval. Inaddition, upon reception of a demand message from the firstcommunication terminal 130, the tag 110 may transmit tag information tothe first communication terminal 130.

Thereafter, upon reception of the tag information, the firstcommunication terminal 130 calculates a tag distance using the taginformation in step 213. The first communication terminal 130 recognizesa guide level preset to correspond to the tag distance in step 215.Thereafter, the first communication terminal 130 determines ifpreviously set notification data corresponding to the guide level ispresent in step 217. Upon determination of the presence of the setnotification data, the first communication terminal 130 plays back theset notification data in step 219. The first communication terminal 130determines if previously set transmission data corresponding to theguide level is present in step 221. Upon determination of the presenceof the set transmission data, the first communication terminal 130transmits the set transmission data to the second communication terminal150 in step 223. Meanwhile, the first communication terminal 130processes tag information in step 225, regardless of the determinationresults of steps 217 and 221.

Upon reception of the transmission data, the second communicationterminal 150 plays back the transmission data in step 227.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a tag location guiding system forcommunication terminals according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment of the present invention, it will beassumed that the first communication terminal 130 and the secondcommunication terminal 150 are mobile phones.

Referring to FIG. 3, the tag 110 stores and transmits tag information.The tag 110 includes a tag memory storing tag information, a tagcommunicator for transmitting tag information, a tag controllercontrolling transmission of tag information at a time interval or to aspecific target. The tag 110 may be fixed or may be moved on demanddepending on its location.

The first communication terminal 130 includes a reader unit 131, a firstmemory 133, a first control unit 135, a first audio processing unit 137,a first display unit 139, a first key input unit 141, and a firstwireless communication unit 143.

The reader unit 131 receives tag information from a plurality of tagswithin a readable distance. The reader unit 131 may transmit a demandmessage for tag information.

The first memory 133 may include a program memory and a data memory. Theprogram memory may store an operating program of the first communicationterminal 130 and programs for controlling guide of tag location. Theprogram memory stores data occurring during execution of a program. Thefirst memory 133 includes a tag setting database for storing locationguide data set for respective tag information and a tag informationdatabase for storing records about reception of tag information.

The first control unit 135 controls the overall operation of the firstcommunication terminal 130. The first control unit 135 includes a dataprocessing unit having a transmitter encoding and modulating atransmitted signal and a receiver demodulating and decoding a receivedsignal. In this case, the data processing unit may include a modem and acodec.

The first control unit 135 sets location guide data for at least twoguide levels of tag information according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. Upon reception of tag information, the first controlunit 135 determines a setting of the position guide data of taginformation. Then, the first control unit recognizes a guide level fromthe tag information, and determines the existence of a location guidedata set according to the recognized guide level. Upon setting thelocation guide data, the first control unit 135 outputs the set locationguide data. In addition, the first control unit 135 processes taginformation and stores the processed result in a tag informationdatabase.

The first audio processing unit 137 plays back a received audio signaloutput from an audio codec of the data processing unit through a speakeror transmits a transmitted audio signal generated in a microphone to anaudio codec of the data processing unit. The first audio processing unit137 plays back location guide data as an audio signal under the controlof the first control unit 135.

The first display unit 139 displays user data output from the firstcontrol unit 135. The first display unit 139 may be an LCD, in whichcase it may include an LCD controller, a memory storing image data, andan LCD device. When the LCD is realized by a touch screen, it may beoperated as an input unit. The first display unit 139 may play backlocation guide data as a text signal under the control of the firstcontrol unit 135.

The first key input unit 141 includes keys for input of numbers andletters and function keys for setting various functions.

The first wireless communication unit 143 carries out wirelesscommunication in the first communication terminal 130. The firstwireless communication unit 143 includes an RF transmitter raising thefrequency of and amplifying a transmitted signal and an RF receiverlow-noise amplifying and lowering the frequency of a received signal. Inthis case, the first wireless communication unit 143 may transmitlocation guide data under the control of the first control unit 135.

The second communication terminal 150 includes a second wirelesscommunication unit 151, a second control unit 153, a second memory 155,a second audio processing unit 157, a second display unit 159, and asecond key input unit 161. The elements of the second communicationterminal 150 are similar to those corresponding elements of the firstcommunication terminal 130, and the detailed description thereof will beomitted. However, the second communication terminal 150 does not includea reader unit 130.

In the second communication terminal 150, upon reception of locationguide data, the second control unit 153 may play back the location guidedata. That is, the second control unit 153 may play back location guidedata through at least one of the second audio processing unit 157 andthe second display unit 159. The second memory 155 may store recordsabout reception of location guide data under the control of the secondcontrol unit 153.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a tag location guiding procedure of acommunication terminal according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 4, in a tag location guiding procedure of acommunication terminal according to an embodiment of the presentinvention, upon a demand for setting a tag, the first control unit 135detects the demand in step 411, and carries out a tag setting procedurein step 413. Then, the first control unit 135 sets the location guidedata to correspond to the tag information. A tag setting procedurecarried out by the first control unit 135 will be described in detailwith reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a tag setting procedure of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 5, the tag setting procedure according to anembodiment of the present invention starts with the selection of a tagby the first control unit 135 in step 511. For example, after the firstcontrol unit 135 receives tag information from a tag within a readabledistance through the reader unit 131, the first control unit 135 mayselect a specific tag information. That is, the first control unit 135may display a title of a tag location contained in a tag information ina list, and may select a specific tag information in response to adetected signal. The first control unit 135 displays a settable guidelevel in step 513. Then, the first control unit 135 may display a guidelevel classified according to a tag distance. Thereafter, upon selectionof a specific guide level, the first control unit 135 detects theselected guide level in step 515 and determines a setting of thenotification data that corresponds to tag information in step 517.

Thereafter, upon determination of the setting of the notification datain step 517, the first control unit 135 sets the notification data instep 519. Then, the first control unit 135 may record an audio signalgenerated in a microphone of the first audio processing unit 137, andmay set the recorded audio signal as notification data. Alternatively,the first control unit 135 may set notification data using an audiosignal previously stored. The first control unit 135 may set a textsignal generated through a touch screen or the first key input unit 141as the notification data. Alternatively, the first control unit 135 mayset the notification data using a text signal previously stored.

Thereafter, the first control unit 135 determines a setting of thetransmission data that corresponds to the tag information in step 521.That is, upon determination of a failure in the setting of thenotification data in step 517, the first control unit 135 goes to step521. Alternatively, upon the setting of the notification data in step519, the first control unit 135 goes to step 521.

Then, upon determination of a setting of the transmission data in step521, the first control unit 135 sets the transmission data in step 523.In this case, the first control unit 135 may set an identificationnumber for communication with the second communication terminal 150. Thefirst control unit 135 may record an audio signal generated in themicrophone of the first audio processing unit 137 and may set therecorded audio signal as the transmission data. Alternatively, the firstcontrol unit 135 may set the transmission data using an audio signalpreviously stored. The first control unit 135 may set a text signalgenerated through a touch screen or the first key input unit 141 as thetransmission data. Alternatively, the first control unit 135 may set thetransmission data using a text signal previously stored.

Finally, upon a demand for the completion of the tag setting procedure,the first control unit 135 detects the demand in step 525, and aftercompletion of the tag setting procedure, returns to FIG. 4. Then, upon afailure in the demand for the completion of the tag setting procedure,the first control unit 135 may repeat steps 513 to 525 until the firstcontrol unit 135 detects a demand for completion. Accordingly, the firstcontrol unit 135 may set multiple notification data or transmission datafor respective guide levels in a specific tag information. Then, the tagsetting database of the first memory 133 may store location guide dataset for the respective tag information as in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Identifi- Notifi- Tag cation Guide cation Transmission LocationCode Level Data Data Gas 0x000010 A Be careful! Range B It's hot.000-0000-0000 Approach Gas Range Bear 0x00011  A It's a doll. Doll — — —— — — — — — — — — — — —

On the other hand, upon a failure in the demand for the setting of a tagin step 411 and the reception of a tag information, the first controlunit 135 detects the tag information in step 421, and carries out aprocedure of managing tag information in step 423. Then, the firstcontrol unit 135 outputs location guide data set that corresponds tospecific tag information. The first control unit 135 processes thespecific tag information. Hereinafter, a process of carrying out aprocedure of managing tag information by the first control unit 135 willbe described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a tag information managing procedureof FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 6, the tag information managing procedure starts withthe calculation of a tag distance by the first control unit 135 usingthe tag information in step 611. For example, the first control unit 135may calculate a tag distance by comparing a transmission time and areception time of the tag information. The first control unit 135 maycalculate a tag distance according to the reception intensity of the taginformation. Thereafter, the first control unit 135 recognizes a guidelevel for the calculated distance in step 613. The first control unit135 determines if previously set notification data according to therecognized guide level is present in step 615.

Thereafter, upon determination of the presence of the set notificationdata in step 615, the first control unit 135 plays back the notificationdata in step 617. When the set notification data is an audio signal, thefirst control unit 135 plays back the set notification data through aspeaker of the first audio processing unit 137. When the setnotification data is a text signal, the first control unit 135 playsback the set notification data through the first display unit 139.

Then, the first control unit 135 determines if previously settransmission data according to the recognized guide level in a specifictag information is present in step 619. Upon determination of a failurein the presence of the set notification data in step 615, the controlunit 135 goes to step 619. Alternatively, after playback of the setnotification data in step 617, the first control unit 135 goes to step619.

Upon determination of the presence of the set transmission data in step619, the first control unit 135 transmits the set transmission data instep 621. In this case, the first control unit 135 may transmit the settransmission data to the second communication terminal 150 using a setidentification number for communication.

Finally, the first control unit 135 processes tag information in step623, and returns to FIG. 4. That is, upon determination of a failure inthe presence of the set transmission data in step 619, the first controlunit 135 goes to step 623. Alternatively, after transmitting the settransmission data in step 621, the first control unit 135 goes to step623. For example, the first control unit 135 may count the number ofrepetitions of a specific tag information and may store it in the taginformation database of the memory 130. That is, the first control unit135 may arrange the tag information using the number of repetitions. Inthis case, the first control unit 135 may calculate a preference and apreference time for a specific tag location from the counted number ofrepetitions. The first control unit 135 may store the preference and thepreference time in the tag information data base. Meanwhile, the firstcontrol unit 135 may process tag information for a set time period(example.g., in units of predetermined time periods). That is, the firstcontrol unit 135 may classify the processed results of the taginformation according to a set time period to store them. Then, the taginformation database of the first memory 133 stores the processedresults of tag information as in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Number of Identifi- Number Prefer- Repetitions Tag cation ofRepe- Prefer- ence of Preference Location Code titions ence time timeBear 0x000011 8 1 14:00~15:00 3 Doll Gamer 0x000015 5 2 17:00~18:00 2Robot 0x000012 3 3 11:00~12:00 2 Soccer 0x000017 2 4 15:00~16:00 2 Ball— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

On the other hand, upon a failure in the detection of the taginformation in step 421, the first control unit 135 may perform aspecific function in step 431. For example, the first control unit 135displays the processed result of the tag information stored in the taginformation database through the first display unit 139 or may transmitit to the second communication terminal 150.

In the above-mentioned embodiment of the present invention, an exampleof, outputting location guide data set to correspond to the taginformation whenever the tag information is received has been described,but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, uponreception of the same tag information within a set time period, theoutput of the location guide data may not be repeated. On the otherhand, upon reception of the same tag information again after a lapse ofa set time period, the output of the location guide data may berepeated.

According to the present invention, upon reception of a tag information,a communication terminal processes the tag information and manages thetag information as a record, and outputs a location guide data setcorresponding to the tag information. Then, the communication terminalsets the location guide data for a plurality of guide levels in a singletag information, and outputs the location guide data corresponding to aspecific guide level according to an area. Therefore, a user of acommunication terminal can accurately access an area through thelocation guide data.

Although the present disclosure has been described with an exemplaryembodiment, various changes and modifications may be suggested to oneskilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompasssuch changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims.

1.-14. (canceled)
 15. A method comprising: receiving tag informationfrom a tag associated with a location; identifying a distance between anelectronic device and the tag based at least in part on the taginformation; and providing guide information associated with thelocation based at least in part on the distance, the guide informationincluding, at least one of text information or audio information. 16.The method of claim 15, wherein the receiving comprises: receiving aplurality of tag informations from a plurality of tags; and selectingone or more tag informations based at least in part on a signaltransmitted from the plurality of tags.
 17. The method of claim 15,wherein the identifying comprises: identifying the distance based atleast in part on comparing a reception time to a transmission time inrelation with the tag information or determining a reception intensityin relation with the tag information.
 18. The method of claim 15,wherein the providing comprises: determining one or more guide levelscorresponding to the distance, each guide level being associated with aspecified range of distance.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein theproviding comprises: transmitting the guide information to one or moreexternal devices.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the guideinformation includes a first guide information to provide via theelectronic device and a second guide information to provide via the oneor more external devices, the first guide information being differentfrom the second guide information.
 21. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: providing preference information based at least in part onthe tag information.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the preferenceinformation comprises at least one of a number of repetitions, apreference time, a number of repetitions corresponding to the preferencetime, or a preference ranking.
 23. The method of claim 21, wherein theproviding the preference information comprises: transmitting thepreference information to one or more external devices.
 24. An apparatuscomprising: a reader configured to receive tag information from a tagassociated with a location; and a controller configured to: identify adistance between the apparatus and the tag based at least in part on thetag information; and provide guide information associated with thelocation based at least in part on the distance, the guide informationincluding at least one of text information or audio information.
 25. Theapparatus of claim 24, wherein the location comprises at least one of adoll, a traffic sign, a home appliance, or at least a part of abuilding.
 26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the reader isconfigured to: transmit a message requesting the tag information to thetag.
 27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein: the reader is furtherconfigured to receive a plurality of tag informations from a pluralityof tags; and the controller is further configured to select one or moretag informations based at least in part on a signal transmitted from theplurality of tags.
 28. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the controlleris configured to: identify the distance based at least in part oncomparing a reception time to a transmission time in relation with thetag information or determine a reception intensity in relation with thetag information.
 29. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the controlleris configured to: transmit the guide information to one or more externaldevices.
 30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the guide informationincludes a first guide information to provide via the apparatus and asecond guide information to provide via the one or more externaldevices, the first guide information being different from the secondguide information.
 31. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the controlleris further configured to: provide preference information based at leastin part on the tag information.
 32. The apparatus of claim 31, whereinthe preference information comprises at least one of a number ofrepetitions, a preference time, a number of repetitions corresponding tothe preference time, or a preference ranking.
 33. The apparatus of claim31, wherein the controller is configured to: transmit the preferenceinformation to one or more external devices.
 34. A non-transitorymachine-readable storage device storing instructions that, when executedby one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to performoperations comprising: receiving tag information from a tag associatedwith a location; identifying a distance between an electronic device andthe tag based at least in part on the tag information; and providingguide information associated with the location based at least in part onthe distance, the guide information including at least one of textinformation or audio information.